Delaware County officials say heavy rain and flooding may be partially responsible for a mother and daughter becoming stuck in their car after plunging into a Delaware County creek.
It happened around 11:30a.m. Saturday morning in Middletown when Denise Paul, 55, was driving with her 14-year old daughter down a slick road and accidently plunged her red Mazda SUV into Ridley Creek.
The Paul’s car was carried 100 yards into the swift current.
But it may have been the quick thinking of the teenager that helped her to escape by climbing out of a window and clinging onto a log until rescue workers arrived.
“She didn’t panic. She was a member of several swim teams and remembered her training. She remembered to open the window if she went into the water in case there was an accident,” said her father, Joseph Paul.
Firefighters then extricated Paul from the car. It took six emergency crews nearly an hour to get both occupants out of the creek safely.
Both victims were treated at Crozier Chester Medical Center. The teen suffered from hypothermia.
Fire crews responding to the rescue were involved in an accident, which left their emergency truck stuck in the mud.
Several firefighters were transported to an area hospital and checked for hypothermia.
The driver’s car ended up wedged against a rock in the middle of the creek, preventing it from drifting further downstream, according to Middletown Fire Chief Ric Tull.
“They are very lucky. Not lucky it happened but lucky they got out,” said Paul.
Investigators are still trying to determine the cause of the accident.
